Stage 3 Media Inc., a new media production company based in Vancouver, released the first installment of Sanctuary, an online science-fiction series running two hours in total, earlier this month.

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The online options open to lovers of Canadian music got a little broader earlier this month with the debut of AOL Music Canada, a free channel from AOL Canada dedicated to Canadian musical works. The service launched with an exclusive concert by platinum-selling artist Feist aka Leslie Feist, and will feature additional future exclusive live performances from Bedouin Soundclash, Sarah Slean, Moneen and others.

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Connectivity was key to the City of Waterloo ON's win at the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) last week. Crowned Intelligent Community of the Year, Waterloo's participation in the federal government's Community Access Program (CAP), which brings Internet terminals to public locations, and its municipal information network for citizens, helped push the city of 115,000 ahead of the pack, according to an ICF press release. Waterloo is most famous as the home of wireless device maker Research In Motion Ltd.

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As the Wi-Fi Alliance ramps up certification for wireless network equipment operating on not-quite-standard 802.11n protocol, Gartner Inc. suggests businesses should wait. The Stamford CT IT analysis house said in a research note that pre-standard .11n gear might lack advanced access methods and higher speeds. The Wi-Fi Alliance, which tests wireless devices for interoperability, announced a certification program for .11n equipment built to the draft-standard specifications. The protocol promises higher data rates than .11b, .11g and .11a, but battling factions at the IEEE have hindered the standard-approval process. Ratification of the .11n standard isn't expected until mid-2008 at the earliest.

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Nortel Networks announced that the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has approved a settlement regarding accounting irregularities. As per the settlement, Nortel will pay the OSC $1 million and provide quarterly and annual reports about improving its accounting practices. According to Nortel, the settlement acknowledges that the Toronto network equipment supplier has a new ethics policy, a new code of conduct, improved financial processes and controls, improved corporate governance, and settled shareholder class-action lawsuits. The settlement stems from accounting problems that plagued Nortel over the past few years. The company has dismissed executive staff members, and it has restated numerous quarterly financial results in its attempt to remedy the situation.

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